Pattern Recognition
📋 What it is
A pattern is a rule that repeats; finding the rule lets you predict what comes next.
🗣️ Coach says
Spotting patterns is your brain’s superpower. The trick is to ask “what changes each step?” In 2, 4, 8, 16 each number DOUBLES. Once you name the rule, the next term is easy — you don’t guess, you know.
🧠 Memory hook
Don’t guess the next number — find the RULE, then apply it.
😲 Whoa!
Your brain is a pattern machine — it’s so eager to find patterns it sometimes sees them where none exist (like faces in clouds). That’s why checking the rule matters.
✅ Quick check: What comes next in 1, 4, 9, 16, ___ — and what’s the rule?
Say your answer out loud first — then reveal.
25 — they’re the square numbers (1², 2², 3², 4², 5²); the rule is “the next counting number, squared”.
Naming the rule (squares) makes the next term certain, not a guess.
🪄 Trick question: In 2, 4, 6, 9, is the rule “add 2”?
Careful — think it through, then reveal.
No — 6 to 9 is +3, not +2, so “add 2” is broken; a real pattern rule must fit EVERY step, not most.
A pattern rule has to hold for all terms; one exception disproves it.
🧪 Try it! (2 minutes)
Make a pattern for a friend (numbers, shapes, or claps) and have them find the rule, not just the next item.